Weighed Down
by BattiestMiist
Summary: Hiccup has just settled into his position as the new chief of Berk and struggles with finding time for himself amid his new responsibilities. Astrid takes it upon herself to help him. Takes place following HTTYD 2. Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

_Takes place shortly after Hiccup's becoming chief at the end of How to Train Your Dragon 2. One small reference to the Netflix series Race to the Edge, but it is easy to understand even without having seen the series._

Hiccup cursed under his breath. He wasn't normally one to make use of expletives, but the metal contraption that his skillful fingers worked to fix was being all too frustrating to deal with. It was Toothless' tail, damaged well beyond the threshold of being usable. It wasn't the dragon's fault, although you wouldn't know it from looking at his apologetic eyes as he watched his friend's brow grow tight-knit as he focused angrily upon the torn cloth and bent metal. Hiccup's eyes flickered away from the tail every now and then as he glanced out the open window to see how far the sun had set. Toothless acted similarly, glancing up to Hiccup every few seconds to gauge his progress.

Finally, Hiccup stood, shoving the tail away from him and across the wooden desk with both arms.

"Look bud, I'll have to work on this later. Our first flight in days and we end up with a broken tail; just our luck, huh?" Toothless merely continued eyeing him. "Don't look at me like that," Hiccup moved his hand to scratch under the dragon's chin, "You know I'm busy. I promise bud, I'll fix the dumb thing tonight and we can go flying early tomorrow morning." Toothless looked away, rolling his eyes. He had learned over the past few weeks since Hiccup's taking over the role of chief that such promises were often left unfulfilled. Hiccup started to reassure his friend, but glanced again out of the window and decided against it. Then he grabbed his notebook from the left side of the desk, charcoal pencil inside, and placed it into the pocket of his outerwear. Just as he turned to begin his decent down the stairs of his home, he heard the wooden door downstairs open.

"Mom?" he called, thinking perhaps Valka had returned early from training the younger kids. She had settled into a teaching role, imparting her knowledge on dragons and the like onto the young minds of Berk. Hiccup didn't wait for a response before continuing his way out of the house. He stepped out onto the first stair and locked eyes with the intruder. The soft-flowing blonde hair told him it was a familiar one.

"Leaving?" Astrid asked, noting the air of hurriedness in his mannerisms. Hiccup nodded, descending three steps. "Well," Astrid said, stepping up two stairs towards him, "I'm sure you can spare a minute, right?" Hiccup opened his mouth slightly, averting his gaze and taking on an almost pained expression that told more truth than any words he could have spoken. Astrid barely seemed to respond other than by taking another step up and waiting for him to speak. Hiccup started to move his metal leg, preparing to take another step down to be on the same level as Astrid, but found that the awkward tension formed a barrier that prevented him from moving further. He prepared his words for a silent moment.

"Council meeting, you know I have to-"

"It starts at sundown. You don't need to hurry, Hiccup."

"Well, uh, you know me. I always- uh, always like to be there early . . . yeah, early to make sure- make sure that-" he found himself stammering, hoping that maybe Astrid could finish the thought for him.

"Basically, you don't have time to talk to me because you need to make more time to sit in the empty great hall and stare at the walls." The mocking tone in her voice was quite literally palpable to Hiccup, who found that they nearly caused physical pain in his chest.

"Didn't realize I was that boring to you." She added, this time succeeding in causing him a painful feeling.

"Astrid, you kno- you know that's not what I meant."

"I'm listening," she said in a mixture of encouragement and damnation. "Go on, tell me why you don't have time to talk to me _this time._"

Hiccup found his fists clenching slightly – something about the tone of those last two words infuriated him in a way he didn't yet understand.

"You know what?" he almost yelled, causing Astrid's eyes to widen slightly. "I don- I don't need this!" Astrid was taken aback; she stood stunned for a moment against the wall to the left of the staircase. Hiccup pushed by her, unable to look at her as he did so; he rushed out the door and scampered off, leaving Astrid in her shocked state.

The council meeting was dull (as expected) but for all Hiccup was paying attention the village's prominent members could have been conversing with Odin himself and he would have been none the wiser. His mind raced, leaving his eyes entirely unfocused on his surroundings. There were a few moments where someone would call out the newly appointed chief's name and, after quickly bringing Hiccup up to speed on the discussion he was mentally, if not physically absent from, the boy would simply nod, agree, and return to his thoughts. After a few times of this happening, the frustration resulting convinced the residents of Berk to stop involving him at all.

Hiccup couldn't believe himself; he was rarely the type to be angry, let alone to be angry at Astrid. He still wasn't quite sure what had set him off, only that he needed to find her as soon as he could and try his best to make some sort of an apology. She would be mad, to be sure, but maybe he could smooth things over and end up with nothing worse than a punch in the shoulder. So he hoped.

Once the discussions of the meeting ran to a close, the various human inhabitants of Berk made their way home, leaving Hiccup alone inside the hall. He was still deep in worried thought, so much that he didn't notice Astrid until she was right next to him. As Hiccup's eyes caught her, he blinked several times, pulling his head up from where it rested upon his hand. His mouth opened quickly, wanting to say something, anything. Astrid cut him off by grabbing his arm roughly and pulling him out of his seat at the head of the long stone table.

"A- Astrid, listen, please. I'm sorry, I just- I'm not sure what I was-" she tugged on his arm, pulling him with her as she walked towards the large wooden doors of the hall. Hiccup, despite having grown fuller than he once was, still didn't quite have the heft to resist (especially since he only had one good leg with which to try). Astrid's tight grip held fast, taking him past the table, across the hall, and outside the double doors. Stormfly was there, saddled under the dark night sky, and Astrid leapt onto her back and tugged, insisting that Hiccup join her. Hiccup gave up on stammering out an apology, deciding to just go along and hope for the best. They flew up above the buildings and trees, feeling the cool air as it brushed against the both of them. Hiccup kept as much distance as he could from Astrid, unsure of whether she would permit him to touch her. Even as worried as he was about what in the world Astrid was doing, he couldn't help but feel the uplifting freedom of being so far above the earthly troubles below them. The flight was short; before long Astrid ordered Stormfly down into a small clearing the forest only a few hundred yards from the village outskirts. She jumped off, turning to Hiccup and offering him her hand as he dismounted as well. She turned to face him, giving him the chance to speak.

"Astrid," he said, taking her hand somewhat hesitantly. "I'm sorry. I really am. I know you're mad, and, and you should be, but just . . . forgive me?" Astrid smiled a bit, seeming to nearly laugh.

"Hiccup, I'm not mad. Worried, yeah. But not mad at you." Hiccup felt the tension dissolve a bit, and he grasped her hand a bit tighter. She stepped towards him in response, closing the distance between them to only a few inches. She stood slightly uphill from him, enough to make her seem a few inches taller. Hiccup brought his good leg up a short distance and stood eye to eye with Astrid, reducing those few inches to near nothing.

"Alright, so tell me. What's been up with you lately?" Astrid looked into his eyes sincerely, and Hiccup couldn't stop himself from glancing down in some sense of shame. Astrid moved her hand that wasn't in his grasp up under his chin and lifted his head back up, all but forcing him to look at her.

"I don't know." As silly as it sounded, Hiccup wasn't lying, and his eyes made Astrid keenly aware of the truth behind what he said. She waited for a bit, seeing if he would speak further. When he didn't, she took the opportunity.

"Do you think, just maybe, that you're letting this whole chief thing get to you?" Hiccup shrugged, not finding any words to respond. Astrid moved her hand from under his chin to his cheek, running her fingers lightly through his hair. "When was the last time you went flying – before I dragged you out here, I mean?"

"I took Toothless out this morning. We uh – well, it was really my fault I guess – I wasn't paying attention and we took a tumble downhill and broke his tail on the way down. I can't even figure out how to fix it, I'll probably have to make another from scratch." Astrid cocked her head slightly and prodded a bit further for answers.

"So that explains why you were in a bad mood today, I guess. But you haven't seemed right almost this whole week." She left it at that, staring at him and waiting for him to explain.

"I don't know. I just- it feels like I just don't have any time, I guess. I mean I spend every waking moment doing something and I just . . . it's not like it used to be. I miss the old days on the Edge, I guess, just getting to spend time with you and the gang. Now . . . now I barely get to see you." Astrid smiled again, moving in to kiss him lightly on the opposite cheek to her hand.

"You know it's your fault right?" Hiccup was stunned by her remark, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Wh- what are you talking about?"

"Hiccup, you let people get everything out of you. You don't save anything for yourself. You don't have any time because . . ."

"Go on, what? What are you trying to tell me, Astrid?" She looked deeply at him, wrestling with whether or not she should dare to say it.

"Because . . . you still feel like you have to prove yourself. And you don't, Hiccup. The only person you haven't proven yourself to is_ . . . you_. That's why." Hiccup seemed to freeze as though his heart had stopped altogether.

"I- I don't-" he stuttered, entirely taken aback by what Astrid had said.

"Hiccup, you don't have to make everything hard on yourself. Just relax for a bit." As she said this, she moved both of her hands to his shoulders, feeling the tension in them. She massaged them lightly, lovingly.

"You don't get it, Astrid. I, I thought I was ready for this . . . but I'm not. I just want to go back-"

"Back to when things were simpler?" Astrid finished his statement for him. He nodded slightly. Astrid glanced down for a moment, thinking. "Who says you can't?" Hiccup cocked his head at this.

"Well, the whole of Berk, for one, and probably my dad too, looking down from wherever he is." She could sense the slight sadness in his tone as he referenced his father. She took his hand, pulling him to sit down with her on the soft grass of the cove.

"Your dad would be proud, Hiccup. He _is_ proud. And no one on this island wants you to be miserable." Hiccup found himself staring into the water of the lake that shimmered under the gentle moonlight. "You don't have to give up anything Hiccup, there's no shame in taking time for yourself."

"You know what my dad always said. 'The good of the many outweigh-"

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't take time to sleep," Astrid interrupted, gently rubbing the dark circles under his eyes. "Or eat, or even fly with Toothless. Those things are good for you Hiccup, all of them. And you sure won't be any good for Berk if you put yourself in an early grave."

"You're right, you're always right." Hiccup continued staring into the water. "But-"

"But _nothing_." Astrid said, placing a finger to his lips to silence him. "Tomorrow you are taking the day off. Go fly with Toothless, draw, scheme, sit here and look into the water all day if you want to," she said, "but just stay away from all the chiefly stuff. You need it."

"Astrid," Hiccup started, "are you busy tomorrow?" She thought for a moment, his eyes now looking away from the lake water to stare at her.

"Not really, why?"

"I was thinking, uh, how about we spend a day together? And I uh, I promise I will listen to whatever you want to talk about." He smiled at her in an apologetic sort of way.

"You know I can't say no to that," she smiled back. "I was hoping you'd ask."

The two of them sat in silence after that, close together with arms around each other. Stormfly came near the two of them, lying down. The couple leaned against her scaly hide, kept warm by both the residual heat of the summer day and the warmth of the dragon's body. It didn't take long for the peaceful setting and Astrid's loving touch to lull Hiccup to sleep. She elected to let him, deciding that he needed it. The three of them remained there under the blanket of the star-filled sky above, where the pressures of life held no power over them.

_Lots and lots and lots of sappy dialogue. Thanks for reading. Feedback is greatly appreciated, I'm always looking to improve my writing. I may do a follow-up chapter detailing the next day, but I'm not sure yet if it's needed._


	2. Chapter 2

_Here is the second chapter that covers the next day. Hope you all enjoy._

Hiccup was the first to awaken the following morning. His eyes opened just in time to take in the first tendrils of sunlight as they crawled over the horizon. He began to pull his left arm up to rub his eyes, only to find it pinned under Astrid, who was still sleeping soundly. He decided to use his right arm instead.

It was a slow process, gently pulling his arm out from under his girlfriend without waking her. Even so, Hiccup managed it, having had plenty of practice before. Despite living in separate houses, the two of them had spent the night together before, especially during their time on Dragon's Edge. Hiccup was always an early riser – he could thank his father for that, since Stoick had insisted that he wake early throughout his childhood – and so he would often slide out of Astrid's grasp and go flying early in the morning with Toothless.

_Toothless!_ _He doesn't know I'm out here. He's probably wondering where I am . . ._

Hiccup, having freed himself, took a few quiet steps through the grass that was wet from morning dew. He stretched his arms, closing his eyes for a brief moment. Upon opening them again, he caught Stormfly's gaze, her eyes drowsy but curious; a quick scratch under her chin eased her nerves, sending her back into a restful state beside her rider. The way Hiccup figured, he could tread back to Berk and meet Toothless, who- assuming the dragon hadn't run off – was still lying inside, probably still sore about Hiccup's leaving him. Toothless had made the discovery that he was capable of opening doors a while back and often didn't hesitate to make use of it, especially when Hiccup ran off with Astrid to spend time alone. By the time Hiccup had finished working through all of this in his head, he had reached the small cliffs surrounding the Cove, prompting him to take one last look back at his sleeping girlfriend before ducking under that old shield still stuck within the rock gap and scampering off towards the village.

It was a short walk, but Hiccup's metal leg didn't make him the fastest on his feet. By the time he reached the front of his home, having dodged a few conversations with some of Berk's early-rising residents, the once feeble tendrils of the sun were now more prominent.

_Hopefully I can get back to Astrid before she wakes up. Knowing her, she'd probably run off looking for me. She probably wouldn't be too pleased either._

Hiccup creaked open the door just enough to slip through and into the living room where he found the hearth flaming gently. His mother turned from stoking the fire to greet him with a caring smile.

"Hungry?" Valka asked, motioning with her hand towards some form a soup cooked in a pot over the fire.

"Uh-thanks mom, but I kinda need to hurry. Is Toothless upstairs?" His mother shook her head.

"I figured he was with you. He was here when I got in last night, but I haven't seen him since then."

"Eh, he probably went out looking for me or something. I'll go try and find him." Hiccup turned to leave, but was stopped when Valka began to speak again.

"Uh, Hiccup, if you don't mind me asking: what exactly are you hurrying to? Not trying to pry, I just- well, you know."

"I spent the night- uh, well, Astrid and I went to the Cove last night and we fell asleep there. I wanted to try and make it back before-"

"Say no more. I was curious where you ran off to last night, probably should have figured the two of you would be together."

"Ah, well, she just kinda dragged me off last night, something about getting me away from the chiefly duties. She thinks it's good for me." Valka looked away for a second, pondering.

"I'd say she's probably right on about that." Valka smiled at Hiccup as he rolled his eyes a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. She's right. Seems like she always is. Oh, and she wanted to spend the day with me today; you know, a sort of rest and relaxation sort of thing."

"Well, if anyone stops by looking for you I'll just tell them you're uh, preoccupied?" Valka cocked her head, asking for confirmation.

"Uh, yeah. That'll work. Thanks, mom." Hiccup waved a quick goodbye to his mother and slipped back out of the house.

_Woah, the sun's already up. I must have spent more time in there than I thought. Where is that stubborn dragon anyway?_

Hiccup started to head off north through the streets, but decided against it. After all, Toothless could find him easily by smell – if the dragon wanted to, that is. Astrid, however, was likely to be awake by now and curious as to where the young chief had run off to. Knowing all of this, he set his route for the Cove and moved as quickly as he could, once again trying his best to avoid getting stuck in conversation with any of the locals. The people of Berk may not be the friendliest around, but Hiccup could attest to how much they could blabber on when given the chance.

By the time he had reached the cliffside of the Cove, the sunlight had fully established itself over the land, filling every inch of ground with the light of a pleasant summer day. Hiccup peered over, failing to spot Stormfly and Astrid anywhere below. Curious, the boy slid down his usual path, ducking once more beneath the stuck shield and beginning to scan the peaceful pocket of land from within it. Still, however, he found no signs of either dragon or rider, nor did Toothless make an appearance. It seemed that the dragon didn't have an interest in finding Hiccup after all. The chief felt inside of the pocket of his furry outerwear, remembering his notebook held within. Hiccup passed the time sitting on a small, smooth stone and drawing, an activity he hadn't done a single time since his anointing as new chief. It would have been a lonely pastime for most, but Hiccup found pleasure in the quiet times, which, in truth, was likely a large part of why he and Toothless got along so well. Hiccup started to recall the days spent sitting together in one place or another, both content with simply _being. _

As was often the case, however, the silence was short-lived. The flapping of wings overhead alerted Hiccup, prompting him to shut the leather-bound book in his hands and swing his head upwards in an effort to observe whatever had arrived so suddenly. It only took a quick glance for him to spot two dragons – both familiar – and Astrid among them.

"Astrid . . . ? Are you . . . riding Toothless?"

"Yeah! He came around this morning; I guess he followed your scent. He seemed ready to fly so I hopped on!" Stormfly trailed a short distance behind them.

"And the tailfin? No trouble for you, huh?" Hiccup questioned her, almost laughing a bit at her joyful eccentricity. Astrid looked down towards the contraption that controlled Toothless' artificial tail, shifting around her foot that was sheathed inside and looking back to observe its effect.

"Nope, not a bit! Well, if I'm being honest it was a bit rough at first. I think I have it all figured out now, though!" Astrid brought the black beast down, landing successfully – if a bit roughly – on the ground. She hopped off the dragon's back, taking a few steps towards Hiccup before engulfing him in a hug.

"Where did you run off too anyway?" Astrid questioned him.

"Well, I went to look for this big guy." Hiccup rubbed Toothless under his chin, earning a contented purr from the dragon. "Looks like he had other ideas, I guess." Astrid nodded, agreeing. Hiccup suddenly realized something, cocking his head at the dragon questioningly.

"Wait, he didn't even have a tail on last night! We broke it yesterday, how the . . . ?" Astrid shrugged.

"He had this tail on when he came here this morning. I figured you had something to do with it."

"No, I went off looking for him during the sunrise. Guess he . . . well, I don't know what he did." Hiccup shrugged as well, deciding some things were beyond explanation.

"Well, on the bright side," Astrid said, stepping closer to Hiccup, "you don't have to worry about fixing the dumb thing now." Hiccup nodded in pleased agreement.

"So," she said, pushing gently on Hiccup's shoulder, "what should we do now?"

"Well," Hiccup responded, mimicking her tone teasingly. "I still promised Toothless I would take him flying." In an instant, he practically leapt the short distance towards his dragon and clicked his metal leg into its holster before taking off into the air before Astrid even had a chance to react.

"Now _that's_ the Hiccup I'm used to."

By the time Astrid and Stormfly ascended above the tree line and caught sight of Toothless and his rider, the duo were already a good distance away. Although Toothless was significantly faster than his light blue dragon friend, both he and Hiccup had little intention of leaving their pursuers behind. Toothless, at Hiccup's behest, angled his wings to slow their speed, giving them time to catch up. Hiccup looked back at the tailfin, wondering once more how in the world it was working again. It was clearly the same one that was reduced to scrap metal the night before. Regardless, the contraption worked as well as ever; both the dragons and their riders spent what must have been hours sailing through the summer breezes that warmed their skin in more pleasant fashion than any hearth ever could.

Eventually, the two pairs landed upon grassy bluff that jutted out of the isle of Berk and granted a view that Hiccup often found himself turning to in times of crisis. From the edge, one could look over most of the island and spot the smoke rising from wooden houses warding away the cold of night. Today however, gentle daylight graced the rooftops and little smoke rose, only enough to mark a household cooking a meal or perhaps Gobber crafting away in the blacksmith shop. Hiccup brought himself near the edge, close enough to look out and have his hair rustled by the same gentle breeze that warmed them last night as they slept in the Cove and a short time ago as they rode upon the backs of their dragons.

Astrid approached from behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Enjoying the view?"

"Eh, you know. Just thinking about some things." Hiccup turned to face her, smiling. "As usual", he added.

"Mind if I ask you what, exactly?"

"Oh, uh, not much, really. Just-" Hiccup cut himself off, spotting a gentle stream of smoke rising from the chimney in his own home.

"Hey, looks like my mom is in; she's probably making lunch. You hungry?" Astrid shrugged.

"I guess I could eat."

The both of them mounted their beasts once again and took the short flight to the house below. When Hiccup pulled open the door, he was greeted by the scent of a freshly-cooked stew.

"Ay Hiccup, where 'ave you been all day?" Hiccup's eyes widened upon noticing Gobber inside, sitting at the dining table with a steaming bowl of the stew that filled the home with its scent.

"G-Gobber? What are you-"

"Your mother promised me a bowl o' her famous stew if I fixed up that tail for ya'. How did ya manage to wrangle that thing so bad?" The old smith's voice raised in pitch as he asked his question.

"Uh- well I, we ended up crashing pretty bad yesterday. So it was you that-" Toothless had made his way into the room by now; he bumped Hiccup with his head, glaring at him.

"Wha-? Oh, I see. _I_ crashed." Hiccup pointed to his chest and glanced at Gobber, emphasizing that Toothless would not be held responsible for the event. Toothless nodded, satisfied with the corrected version of the story.

"Right," Hiccup said, "so when did you find time for these repairs?"

"Well, yer dragon came to me early this morning looking all sad. It's not fair really – he uses them eyes to make me feel bad for 'im. Anyhow, I got it fixed up. Figured you'd find me sooner 'r later."

Following that statement, the four of them sat down together for lunch, enjoying the yields of Valka's culinary aptitude. Stoick wasn't a horrendous cook, but Valka had spent years cooking for the family and she had the expertise to show for it. The group chatted freely, discussing everything from recent events to whispered rumors that had made their way along the social circles of Berk. Meanwhile, Toothless sat comfortably near the fireplace, eating his share of freshly caught fish and playing with the fish-bones left behind. After all of them had eaten their share and the conversation died down a bit, Hiccup seized his chance, rising quickly and heading for the door. He didn't make it far before Astrid grabbed his arm, glaring at him questioningly.

"I've gotta check on the storehouses," Hiccup said, holding up the notebook in his coat to demonstrate, "and mark down what he have and what we need. Astrid glared at him more strongly now.

"Remember our deal? One day, Hiccup, where you don't spend three hours counting and recounting sacks of flour?"

"Well, what would we do if we ran out? And it wasn't three hours, Astrid; it was two at most. And, really-" Hiccup gave up defending himself upon seeing Valka and Gobber struggle to stifle their laughs.

"I'll go," Valka said, smiling at her son's nature. "We're done with training for today so I have all the time in the world. I can at least count everything and write it down for you Hiccup." Astrid didn't give Hiccup the chance to protest before she thanked Valka and gave her the notebook she pulled from Hiccup's hands. The rays of light that passed through the doorway as Valka made her way outside told that at least a few hours had passed since Hiccup and Astrid's arrival at the home. Gobber, soon after, bid the duo farewell before making his way out of the house and presumably up to the blacksmith shop to complete any work that he had waiting. And so the house was left occupied only by the two humans plus Toothless and Stormfly (who had made her way inside earlier after growing bored of standing outside alone).

"Guess it's just us now," Hiccup observed aloud. Astrid nodded. "What do we do now?"

"Well," Astrid said, running her hand down his chest, "I don't know about you, but I'm fine with just being near each other." She pulled him by his arm towards the long bench that faced the fire and both of them took a spot close together.

"I uh- that doesn't sound too bad." Hiccup smiled, teeth showing, and then rested his head on her shoulder. There was silence after that, both of them content with simply being together. Occasionally, Astrid or Hiccup would take the metal stake and use it to prod at the fire, watching the flames dance. Every once in a while, one of them would start speaking again, only to give up after a few short exchanges and return to the peaceful silence. Toothless eventually made his way to Hiccup's feet and rested his head upon them. It was a good while later when Hiccup found himself dozing off, lulled into the realm of dreams by his comforting surroundings. Astrid was not surprised; she was all too aware of Hiccup's tendency to sleep very little when there was any form of work to be done. It was likely, she reasoned, that the new chief had slept almost as much the night before as he had in the several days preceding it. Just when she was thinking of all these things, the door creaked open behind her, letting in gentle waves of light that carried the shifting tones that came with the change from afternoon to dusk.

Valka entered the house and walked in front of the bench, handing Hiccup his notebook and pencil.

"There you go, Hiccup. I marked down everything inside." Hiccup glanced briefly at the pages and then reached to put it inside of his coat; he hesitated for a second and then tossed it on the table nearby instead.

"Thanks, mom. I uh- I appreciate it." Valka nodded and smiled, walking over to her usual seat by the fire and sitting down. There was a brief silence filled only by the gentle noise of her scratching Toothless' chin. Eventually, Astrid broke the quiet with a question towards Hiccup.

"So, did you enjoy your day off?" Hiccup, head still resting on Astrid's shoulder, responded only with a quiet noise of confirmation. After a few seconds, he pulled his head up and gave Astrid a quick kiss on her cheek, prompting his mother to smile warmly.

"Thanks you guys," he said, "I mean it. It's good to know that I have people that are there for me."

"Always," Astrid said. "And whatever problems we have, we'll face 'em together." Valka nodded, and Toothless purred, and Hiccup leaned close to Astrid and held her tight. There would be another day tomorrow – and many more after that – but not one of them could weigh him down. Not as long, at least, as he had his friends and family behind him.

_That's all, folks. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you would, I appreciate them greatly._

_P.S. – Did anyone catch that I made Hiccup's notebook a symbol for the burdens of work and the way things have changed since his childhood? Hopefully it added a little something to the story. Thanks again for reading all of my sappy dialogue and cheesy events. _


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